English influence has Bears rolling

When Jennifer Whateley came to the United States from England to play tennis for the University of Northern Colorado, she was alone in a new country trying to adjust to a new way of life and a new team while trying to make her mark on the court.

Now Whateley is not only thriving on the court and off of it, but is helping some of her fellow countrymen through the transition she made herself.

Whateley, a senior, is one of three players on the UNC women’s tennis team from England. All three players are a big reason that the Bears are on the cusp of making the Big Sky Conference tennis tournament for the first time since the 2008-09 season when Whateley was a freshman.

A victory by UNC (5-2 in conference) over undefeated and nationally-ranked Sacramento State (7-0) at home or a victory by Montana (4-2) over Montana State (3-3) on Sunday would give the Bears one of the four spots in the tournament.

While Whateley’s record may not look overly impressive (8-16), she is not only playing No. 1 singles, but is the leader of a young team that continues to get better with each match.

She is a big reason that her English teammates Stephanie Caitlin and Chrissie Hoolahan are both on the team and have made a successful transition to the college game.

Recommended Stories For You

Catlin, a sophomore, is 18-6 overall and 5-2 in conference playing mostly No. 5 singles. Hoolahan, a freshman, is 13-10 overall and 6-1 in conference playing at No. 6 singles.

Whateley remembered Catlin from the time they both played together when they were young kids and helped convince UNC director of tennis Brenda Vlasak to recruit Catlin.

Catlin grew up wanting to play tennis in the U.S. and had family friends in Fort Collins, so UNC became even more attractive, especially with another English player on the team to help her in the transition.

She really started enjoying the game.

“Everything changed when I got here,” Catlin said. “Before I came here, I know it is kind of weird, but tennis was not my priority. Then when I came here, I started loving it and I started enjoying matches.”

For Hoolahan, having two other players on the team from England was the deciding factor in her decision to play at UNC. She played tennis with Whateley back home and loved playing with her.

While coming to the U.S. to play tennis was an adjustment for Hoolahan, it was a whole lot easier because of her teammates.

“I think (the biggest adjustment) it was being away from home and the time difference and stuff,” Hoolahan said. “I was lucky that with the other English players it has been quite easy and the team has been so friendly.”

Whateley certainly had the biggest adjustment to make both on and off the court being the first of the three. It took her a while to not only get used to the different culture, but the difference between playing for herself and playing for a team.

“I think the biggest difference is the amount (of tennis) you play here,” Whateley said. “To be on form day-in and day-out and to have so many matches in a season and every weekend and mentally be able to get ready for each match, I think that was the biggest thing.”

Even so, she kept getting better with each match. Playing every day and playing matches all the time helped her become a better tennis player.

“I think it is just consistency,” Whateley said. “Playing the amount that we do and being able to hit the shot that you want to hit because you practiced it so much. Just being able to put the ball where I want to put it, I think, that is the biggest thing.”

Vlasak said Whateley, who is headed to medical school in England after graduation, has set the tone for the entire team by exemplifying what the program is about on the court and off.

“She has been our team captain for the last two years, but she is just a workhorse,” Vlasak said. “The other players really have no other choice but to follow her because of the example she is setting for the team. So really what those three brought in was a hard work ethic and they brought it right away.”

Whateley has not only come a long way since she was a freshman, but so has her team. Last year, she could feel the Bears turning the corner and on the verge of success. Now she knows they are ready for it.

“We had seven new girls last year, so it was a huge transition and it was basically a brand new team last year,” Whateley said. “So we had a building year last year and just saw everyone grow. But this season, we have really just lived up to our potential that we knew we had last year.”

The Big Sky Conference and ROOT Sports announced their television package for the upcoming season, and UNC didn’t get much respect from the new network of the conference.

UNC will play in only one of the 12 games announced Tuesday, that being the Oct. 6 game at home against perennial conference power Montana.

It is obvious the network is targeting the Montana television audience. All 12 games involve either Montana or Montana State.

UNC’s game against Montana will be one of three Saturdays in which the network will broadcast a Big Sky doubleheader. UNC will be the 1:30 p.m. game followed by Montana State at UC Davis beginning at 5 p.m.

Former UNC linebacker John Eddy is playing arena football this season with the Sioux Falls Storm of the Indoor Football League.

Eddy, who played linebacker and defensive end in his career at UNC, is playing defensive end for the Storm. The Storm is off to a great start so far with a 5-0 record, leading the United Conference.

The Colorado Ice out of Loveland also play in the IFL, but in the Intense Conference. The two teams will play each other June 9 in Sioux City, and it will be a reunion of sorts for Eddy, who played at Greeley Central.

Former UNC running back Andre Harris plays for the Ice.

The UNC baseball team will return to Jackson Field for the first time in a couple weeks when the Bears start a four-game Great West Conference series against the New York Institute of Technology at 3 p.m. Friday.

The Bears are coming off a disappointing start to the conference season as they lost three of four games last weekend at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Despite the rough weekend for the Bears, UNC shortstop Adam Hilker is still sixth in the nation in hitting with an average of .447. Roger Bernal of Texas-Pan American and Zach Stephens of Tennessee Tech lead the nation with a .468 average.

The UNC softball team will try to get back on track this weekend as the Bears try to snap a five-game Pacific Coast Softball Conference losing streak with a four-game home stand against Portland State starting with Saturday’s noon doubleheader at the UNC softball field.

The Bears sit tied for last in the conference’s Mountain Division with a 2-6 record but could really gain some ground with a sweep of the division-leading Vikings (6-2 in conference).

Matt Schuman covers University of Northern Colorado athletics for The Tribune. Reach him at mschuman @greeleytribune.com